Simon Katich bids adieu to T20 cricket

Melbourne: Australian opener Simon Katich on Saturday announced his retirement from T20 format of the game. Already retired from Tests and ODIs, Katich called time off from his Twenty20 career ruling himself out from the Champions League T20 in India.

The 38-year-old, who quit first-class cricket in 2012, had captained Perth Scorchers to KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League title earlier this year, making the team eligible to play in the CLT20, scheduled from September 8 to 30 in India.

Katich played 118 T20 games and scored 2483 runs at an average of 30.28 and a strike-rate of 126.61. Of these, only three appearances came for Australia.

"It is always difficult when it comes to making these sorts of decisions," Katich said.

"I have obviously been in a similar situation when I made the decision to retire from first-class cricket in Australia a few years ago. Having been through that before, it helped me understand the process a bit better and the more I thought about it, I felt the time was right,” he said.

"I have a young family, I have had a great run and for my last game at the WACA, my home ground, to be a win in a successful (BBL) campaign; it's the stuff you dream of. I'll finish on a high and that was a big part of the reason I decided to pull up stumps," he added.

Katich said that he made this decision after much deliberation.

"My decision certainly was not for any other reason other than……. and now it's the boys' turn. The past three years have been outstanding at the Scorchers; we have been really consistent and getting to three finals, then getting over the line last year was very rewarding for everyone involved," he said.

"Justin, the coaching and support staff and all the players made the end of my playing years very memorable and very special. That's something I'll always be grateful for; to have finished at my home ground and in front of family and friends, with a great bunch of lads," Katich said.

Katich played 56 Tests for Australia, averaging 45.03 for his 4,188 runs. His 45 ODI appearances yielded 1,324 runs for the country at an average of 35.78.

Perth coach Justin Langer, a team-mate of Katich's through the early 2000s, saluted this retiring champion.

"Simon's contribution to Western Australian and Australian cricket has been immense and, whilst I'm disappointed he'll no longer play for the Scorchers, I respect his decision to move on," Langer said.

"As a person of extremely high integrity, I know ‘Katto' has given this decision a lot of thought and I respect that he wants to finish his playing career as the captain of the triumphant Scorchers team last summer,” he said.

"I am glad he was able to retire on a high and where he started his illustrious career here at the WACA. In terms of leadership; there have been few stronger leaders in Western Australian cricket history," Langer added.